Shaza Fatima says Pakistan building digital, cyber defence capacity
A Data Governance Policy will be unveiled in the next couple of weeks, and the government has announced a $1 billion AI investment.
Pakistan is taking steps to strengthen its sovereign technology capabilities and cyber defence, the state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported, Information Technology Minister Shaza Fatima said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Margalla Dialogue in Islamabad, she said Pakistan won the conventional war against India last year and also showed its cyber capabilities during Marka-e-Haq.
The minister said the government is focusing on digital transformation and has drafted a comprehensive Data Governance Policy, which will be unveiled in the next couple of weeks.
She said the policy is meant to ensure secure and responsible data sharing between institutions, with interoperability and strict governance principles.
Shaza Fatima said the policy will also give the public and young people access to properly sanitised data to promote innovation.
She said the government is working to build all the essential components needed to turn Pakistan into a digital nation.
She also said the government has announced an investment of one billion dollars in artificial intelligence, covering infrastructure, skills, innovation and connectivity.
Marka-e-Haq was the name Pakistan gave to its military confrontation with India in May 2025, which followed a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan has since stressed that its cyber and digital capabilities form part of its wider national security planning, a theme the minister returned to in her remarks.
